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Anukshanam review

“A Passable Psycho Drama“

An ordinary cab driver Seetharam (Surya) is a serial killer slaying women in the city. Gautam (Manchu Vishnu) is a specially appointed officer investigating the case and Shailaja (Revathi) is a psychiatrist and researcher in human behavioral sciences helping Gautam in the case. Aasha (Madhushalini) is a TV Crime reporter dealing with the case. Along with many other women, kin and kith of Gautam also fall prey to the serial killer. So, how Gautam was affected by Seetharam, how did he map this killer and end this carnage form the plot of the story.

Manchu Vishnu: This film tries to showcase the intense actor in Vishnu and he gives his best in getting under the skin of the character. He has once again proved that he is a director’s actor.

Revathi: It was delight watching this supremely talented actor again on the screen enact a psychiatrist with elegance. Guess the character had more scope in the plot.

Surya: He was impressive as the psycho killer with his looks and makeover. It was a decent show from him and he looks absolutely promising!

Madhushalini: She is an able actor and she got her act right as a reporter.

Brahmanandam: Though he has miniscule character in the film, he did his job in bringing a smile on your face.

The rest of the cast including Kota, Navdeep, Tejaswi, Supreeth et al just fit the bill.

Given the fact that this is a psycho thriller film and on top of it a Ram Gopal Varma film, Anukshanam is more like a visual translation of the so called real life incidents and cases than an engaging and edgy story as it is supposed to be. RGV uses his preliminary research and knits a lukewarm thriller. Besides his realistic characterization and an impressive show by his lead actors, his characters lack a journey for the story to be appealing. When the antagonist is revealed right in the very beginning, apart from the gory murders, the blood and the television bulletins, the director’s prowess lies in an intelligent and engaging narration in the form of a substantiating police investigation! That is in where, RGV miserably fails. He has got brilliant actors and an impressive technical support but wish his narration was more edgy and thrilling rather than a mere documentation of a chunk of psychotic acts. [We expect this because he is RGV]

First Half: The film starts with the gruesome acts of the psycho killer and slowly the mission of the lead characters get established. Brahmi vanishes off just when you start smiling! The psycho acts, the performance of Vishnu, Revathi and Kota are the highlights in this episode.

Interval Bang: The interval bang is certainly unpredictable and the pre-interval episode has enough mettle to keep us look forward to the second half.

Second Half: This episode is engaging enough with enough twists, turns and a predictable yet validating climax.

With its own flaws, the second half appeals better than the first half.

Merits:

- The lead cast performance.

- Top notch cinematography.

- Impressive Sound design.

- Engaging second half.- Interesting presentation.

De-merits:

- Flawed script.

The Flowcam Sound Design by Seshu was impressive. It in fact holds the film together and if the film was appealing to an extent, it is because of the sound design.

Impressive Cinematography, Editing and Art Direction

Anukshanam is more of an appealing psycho drama than an edgy thriller. Being an honest genre film,Anukshanamis a one-time go for all the genre lovers, RGV fans and a passable affair for the rest (as usually NOT for the families)!